Police called to clear 150 passengers from 'dangerously overcrowded' train from London

Police helped clear 150 people from a “dangerously overcrowded” train from London during the Easter getaway.

Passengers on the 10am service from Paddington to Penzance in Cornwall had to disembark at Plymouth after being packed onto the train "like sardines".

Two services that had terminated at the station before the train from Paddington arrived meant too many people were waiting on the platform to board the later service, Great Western Railway said.

The British Transport Police was then called after some passengers reportedly refused to get off the train to wait for another service.

A GWR spokesman said: "This train was particularly busy on Friday, so to improve comfort and safety we asked some customers to use a slightly later train which had been put on to cope with additional passengers.

"Good Friday is one of the busiest days for train travel across the country, and we advise customers to take advantage of our free seat reservation service wherever possible."

Ali Swindell, who was on the train, wrote on Facebook: "It was actually dangerous. If anyone had a medical emergency there's no way they could have been seen to.

"You couldn't even lift your arms properly or turn.

"I asked GWR what the limit was for passengers and they said they didn't have a limit.

"This seems crazy to me. In light of what's been happening recently you would have thought they wouldn't fill trains up to the brim."

Pictures shared on Twitter showed passengers lying on the floor in the aisle of the carriage during the crammed journey toward Cornwall.

Eve Conway tweeted several images of the "chaotic scene" writing: "Passenger laying on floor by my seat on massively overcrowded @GWRUK train to Cornwall - chaos and safety hazard".

The service was branded "shambolic" by former BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman, who tweeted "Overcrowded and no management by stroppy staff. Dangerous and unsafe."

The two-carriage stopping service was followed by a high-speed train with eight carriages to take remaining passengers onward, GWR said.